In its second Big Ten dual of the season, the No. 3 Minnesota Golden Gopher Wrestling team defeated the Northwestern Wildcats, 33-7, tonight at the Sports Pavilion in Minneapolis, Minn. With the win, the Gophers improve to 7-1, 2-0 B1G on the season, while the Wildcats drop to 3-1, 0-1 B1G.

Northwestern was forced to forfeit two of the night's bouts, 133 lbs. and heavyweight, giving the Gophers an automatic 12-0 lead to start the match. After sitting out last week, David Thorn began the night at 125 lbs. and faced Dominick Malone to a 2-0 decision. Chris Dardanes received the forfeit win at 133 lbs.

At 141 lbs., Nick Dardanes rectified a loss against Oklahoma State with a 14-10 comeback victory over Jameson Oster. Down 6-2 going into the third period, Dardanes made his move and notched five takedowns within a minute-thirty to pull ahead for the win. Seth Lange followed at 149 lbs. and tallied his first dual win of the season with a 4-2 decision over Dylan Marriott.

The Wildcats marked their first points of the night in the 157 weight class when No. 2 Jason Welch defeated Brad Dolezal by a 13-2 major decision. Cody Yohn earned three points for the Gophers, edging Pierce Harger, 3-2, for the 165-pounders. Northwestern also took the 174-pound weight class. Lee Munster outlasted Alec Ortiz for an 8-2 decision.

Kevin Steinhaus thrilled the crowd, scoring a 15-0 technical fall over Marcus Shrewsbury at the 3:48 mark. Steinhaus marked his first takedown 12 seconds into the first period. He followed with a near fall for two points then racked up three separate three-point near falls before time ran out. At 1:14 in the second, he moved for the reversal to end the bout.

At 197 lbs., Scott Schiller defeated Alex Polizzi, 12-4 in what would be the final dual of the night. Tony Nelson received the second forfeit for six finals points to the Gopher total, ending the match 33-7.

Minnesota will finish out the weekend tomorrow night when they host No. 15 Oregon State at 6 p.m. CT.